Advice for Non Holy Paladins

A consistent post on both the MainTankadin Forums and the WoW Paladin Forums are Protection and Retribution Paladins posting about how their guild, sometimes rather forcibly, asks them to spec Holy, or won't let them Tank, or DPS.

What I never realized was that non Marksman Hunters can face these same issues, too. In a recent post BRK answered an email from a Hunter whose guild was trying to force him to respect out of his chosen Beast Mastery spec and into Marksman.

The next time I see one of those posts, I'm going to reply with this:

Here, in part, is BRK answer (quoted with permission):

"My friend, there is one bit of advice you need to heed. One small tidbit of information that shall put your mind at ease. One itsy bitsy teenie weenie morsel of truth that shall set you free:

People are stupid. Unfortunately, too often in our lives we have to deal with People. Friends are cool. Acquaintances are nice. People are dumb. People are ignorant. People are loud-mouthed schnooks. People need to take a long quaff from a great big tall frosty glass of Shut The H3ll Up juice.

You have three choices when dealing with People: let them control you, get away from them, or shut them up.

Thus, your future in your guild is on one of three paths: Path Weasel ... Path Sanity ... Path Facepalm" - BRK

(This next bit is a paraphrase of BRK, taking the Hunter specific parts and making them Paladin)

Path Weasel - Respec Holy and go play in kara. If you want to be in Death and Taxes or any other legendary raiding guild you'll have to play by their rules, too.

Path Sanity - Drop guild and go somewhere where you'll be appreciated. Very few guilds will turn down a Paldin with decent gear, spec, experience, and the knowledge of how to play the class properly.

Path Facepalm - Challenge the People and their smugness.

Prot: "You let me run Kara through the first boss as Prot, and if I can't hold aggro and stay alive, then I'll hearth to my Paladin trainer and respec on the spot. But if I CAN, you gotta say in guild-chat, 'I am a worthless raider and a NooB for I tried to make someone respec when I clearly don't have a clue about Paladin mechanics.' "

Ret: You let me run Kara through the first boss as Ret, and if I can't get #1 or #2 on the damage meter, then I'll hearth to my Paladin trainer and respec on the the spot. But if I CAN, you gotta say in guild-chat, 'I am a worthless raider and a NooB for I tried to make someone respec when I clearly don't have a clue about Paladin mechanics.' "

If you go Path Sanity be sure to read Lore's excellent "How to Score a Raid Spot".

Now Prot may have it a little bit tougher with Path Facepalm than a Ret or a DPS class would. DPS classes can pretty much control their own destiny, and they've got an objective number everyone can see as their measure. Tanking is a cooperative thing, and honestly, a DPSer or Healer can sabotage you pretty easily. The Healer could be "late" on a heal and you'll die, and some DPS can pull aggro no matter what you do. They might even click off Salvation after the pull.

I've been fortunate enough to have never been put in this spot. Those that have, have my sympathy.

I have been invited to more advanced guilds on my server with the caveat of a respec. I have no interest in leaving my guild, but what I tell them is "I'll reroll before I respec".